Imaginary Friend
by WriterAtHeart2
Summary: Will and Gilan both have imaginary friends! Can they convince Halt to have one, too? *ON HOLD*
1. Chapter 1

**My seventh FanFiction! Please enjoy...and review.**

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Halt sipped his coffee. He expected this to be a relaxing day...a _fairly _relaxing day, that is. You could never have a full relaxing day with Gilan around.

Will came into the kitchen. He was talking feverishly. Except he wasn't talking to Halt. Or Gilan. He was talking to himself. At least, Halt _thought _Will was talking to himself.

He was either talking to himself or his shoulder.

Halt raised one eyebrow. "Who are you talking to, Will?"

Will stopped talking in mid-sentence. He smiled broadly. "Why, I'm talking to my imaginary friend, of course!"

Halt almost fell off his chair. Had he heard correctly?

"Imaginary friend?" Halt repeated slowly.

Will nodded several times. "Yup. I just met him today. My imaginary friend's name is Gary."

This time Halt _did _fall off his chair. Will had an imaginary friend. As if that weren't foolish enough, he had named him _Gary. _

"Why do you have an imaginary friend?" inquired Halt.

Will shrugged. "It gets too lonely here."

"Gilan's here."

"He's too immature." reasoned Will. He smiled and continued talking to Gary.

Halt sighed. Will was being so immature right now. He sipped his coffee again. And then Gilan entered the kitchen.

He, too, was talking feverishly to himself. Halt guessed that Gilan also had an imaginary friend.

Halt sighed. "Gilan, I'm guessing that you're talking to your silly little imaginary friend."

Gilan stopped talking abruptly. "Why, yes, actually, I am! I'm talking to Bob. He's really interesting, you know. He likes water and strawberries and water and strawberries and water and strawberries and—what's that, Bob?—oh, Bob says that he doesn't like water, he likes tea—well, I guess Bob likes tea and strawberries and tea and strawberries and...did I say tea? I—"

Halt groaned. "I get it, Gilan. Your friend Bob likes tea and strawberries. Now go away."

Gilan pretended to pout.

Halt ignored him and continued to sip his coffee.

Gilan, deciding that the conversation with Halt was over, continued talking with Bob.

"How was your day, Bob? Oh, that's great! Hey, you know that old man over there—" (Halt shot Gilan a glare). "—that's Halt, and Gary's friend is Will. And of course, you know I'm Gilan. Oh, well, I suppose you have lots of friends, too...well, not exactly, I really prefer coffee...no, no, I think cherries are better...say, you want to meet the Ranger horses? You can even ride Abelard, I'm sure he won't mind..."

Halt muttered under his breath, "I'm sure he _will _mind," as Gilan walked away. Will came back. He wasn't talking to Gary anymore.

"Where's Gary?" Halt asked, though uninterested in the answer.

"He's taking his afternoon nap. He's only four years old, you know. I think Bob's his older brother. Bob's about twelve, I think. I don't know why Gilan bothers talking to a twelve-year-old, it must be terribly boring...anyway, Halt, I'm going outside, I think I'll practice my archery skills..." Will rambled on and on.

Halt held his head in his hands. He had a terrible headache. "Yes, please go outside," Halt said. He longed for two seconds of silence.

Will turned and then stopped. "Halt?"

Halt groaned. This boy was filled to the brim with questions. "_Yes?"_

"You should get an imaginary friend, Halt. You know, Gary's older brother is about sixty-five years old, you could talk to him when you're bored, I'm sure he'd be very entertaining..."


	2. Chapter 2

"No thank you," Halt said coldly.

Will frowned. "Suit yourself," he replied cheerfully. "Let me know when you change your mind." Then he left the kitchen.

Halt rolled his eyes. "Maybe I _will_ change my mind," he said. Then he added sarcastically, "In a million years."

The grizzled Ranger sipped his coffee and sat back. The house was peaceful again. Like the old times. When he didn't have crazy and hyper apprentices. Like Gilan. Will was a bit on the calmer side, Halt decided.

_5 hours later..._

Will and Gilan were back inside. Both Rangers were sitting at the table and enjoying mugs of coffee. Gilan was happily telling how Bob had fell off Abelard and how he'd gotten a giant bruise on his knee. Will was boasting how he'd gotten ten bull's-eyes in a row.

"...and just like that—" (Gilan clapped his hands together) "—and Bob fell off Abelard, and then he groaned, and then he starting prodding his bruised knee, and then, of course, he asked _me _to help him up, and of course I pulled him to his feet, and then he asked for some tea, but we'd ran out so I gave him coffee, and then he got all mad and..."

What Will was saying was not one bit more interesting. "...so I just nocked the arrow, and then I pulled back, and then I fired, and not surprisingly, I got a bull's-eye, but then I fired another arrow and got another bull's-eye, and then another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another." Will counted the number of bull's-eyes on his fingers. "Ten," he finished.

Gilan snorted in mid-sentence. "Yeah, right," he scoffed.

Will crossed his arms across his chest. "Follow me." he said.

Gilan followed Will outside and the younger Ranger led him to one of the targets. On it were ten arrows, all clustered in the bull's-eye area.

Gilan's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You—I—that—you—" Gilan stuttered. "—you probably just took your arrows and stuck them on with your hands." Gilan finished triumphantly. He had a defiant look on his face.

Will shook his head. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. You'll never know. Unless I tell you. Which I won't. Or will I?"

The senior Ranger turned around with a _hmph _and headed back to the cottage.

"Hey, Gilan, where are you going?" Will asked.

Gilan paused for an excuse. "I don't want my coffee to get cold," he finished. Then he stomped off.

Will thought about what Gilan had just said. Then he frowned. "He already finished his coffee," Will remembered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took so long to get this short chapter up...I was really busy...anyway, enjoy and review. I have no idea where this story is going to go...but you know as they say, just "go with the flow". I have no idea how that applies here, but just...read and review.**

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Gilan sighed. He sincerely hoped that Will had forgot that he'd already finished his coffee. He decided to bother Halt instead.

"Hey Halt, _please _get an imaginary friend?" Gilan begged, but he already knew the answer.

"No."

"_Please?" _

"No."

"Please with a cherry on top?"

Halt made a funny noise halfway between a snort and a snarl.

"I don't like cherries," the grizzled Ranger said simply. "So _no_."

Gilan sighed for possibly the tenth time that morning. "But Squid's _lonely!" _Gilan whined.

"What kind of name is _Squid? _For Araluen's sake, that's the weirdest name I have ever heard._" _Halt said. "I don't want to be friends with somebody named _Squid." _

Gilan frowned. "Well, my name is weird, and you're friends with me," said Gilan.

Halt snorted.

"You'll regret it when Squid dies," Gilan advised.

"Right, thanks for letting me know."

"So if he dies you'll be at his funeral?"

Halt fell off his chair in surprise. "Sorry?" he said, rubbing his bum. "Didn't quite hear that."

"SO—IF—HE—DIES—YOU'LL—BE—AT—HIS—FUNERAL?" Gilan hollered at the top of his lungs. The ground shook dangerously.

Halt fell off his chair again. "_For crying out loud!" _he shouted. "I'M NOT DEAF!"

Gilan smiled in satisfaction. "So will you?"

Halt thought for a moment. "No." he said shortly. "I think I have more important things to do."

At this time, Will entered the kitchen. "Guys…" he said quietly. He was on the verge of tears. "I have bad news…" Will gulped and wiped a trickling tear off his face.

Gilan and Halt both turned in surprise. "Yes?" they said in unison.

Will gulped again. He wiped his face with his cloak. "Squid—he…he…" Will tried again and again, but he couldn't go on from "he".

"Oh for Gorlog's sake, what is it?" Gilan said shrilly. He was beginning to get annoyed at Will. He was so sensitive these days.

Will took a deep, shaky breath. "Squid died."

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**I only made Squid die because there was really nothing interesting happening...**


	4. Chapter 4

Gilan immediately fell to the ground and started dramatically sobbing.

"Oh—the horror!" he cried. "See, Halt, now you feel so guilty, don't you?"

Halt pretended to be thoroughly sorry. "Oh, yes, of course!" he said in a high-pitched voice. It sounded as if he had transformed into a girl. "Of course I feel guilty because I'm not friends with some stupid imaginary freak with the name of _Squid!"_

At this, both Will and Gilan gasped. Apparently, it was very insulting to be called a "stupid imaginary freak" in the imaginary world.

"You—wouldn't—dare!" Gilan said through clenched teeth. How could Halt be so rude when someone had just died? "You're insulting someone who did no harm whatsoever to you!"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, _Squid." _Halt said in an "I'm not really sorry" kind of voice.

Will frowned. "Don't say his name like that!" he said defensively. "You don't hear me say, 'Why, what a horrible mentor _Halt _is!'" Will mimicked Halt.

Halt sat up. "What did you say?"

Will opened his mouth, but Gilan cut him off.

"Yes, yes, I know your conversation is terribly important, but right now we have a bigger problem!" Gilan said dramatically.

"Did we run out of coffee?" Halt suggested, forgetting that Will had just insulted him a minute ago.

"Did somebody else die?" said Will with a worried look on.

Gilan rolled his eyes. "No and no. We need to plan a funeral for Squid!"

"See, Gilan doesn't say his name like _you _do," Will whispered accusingly.

"Oh, shut up." Halt replied. "I can talk how I like."

Gilan frowned. "Didn't anybody ever teach you to be silent when someone else is talking?" he asked, poking a finger at Will. "Now, as I was saying, we must plan a funeral! I think we should invite all the Rangers, and—"

"Hold your horses, we can't invite _all _the Rangers to a stupid imaginary freak's funeral!" Halt protested.

Again, Gilan and Will gasped.

"Well, yes, I feel that is very necessary." Gilan replied casually. "We need lots of people there. We should also invite Alyss and Horace and Will's whole lot of friends. And we can invite the craftmasters, too. I think it's also necessary to invite King Duncan and Baron Arald and…" Gilan trailed on and on.

Halt gave Will an amused look. "How do you think King Duncan would react if he was invited to a funeral for a person who didn't exist?"

Will smiled and shrugged.

Gilan, however, was still blabbing about which people to invite to Squid's funeral. He finally stopped talking, apparently convinced that he had named all the people living in Araluen.

"That should be enough people." Gilan clapped his hands together. "And now, you two—" (Gilan poked his finger at Halt and Will.) "—should be sending out the invitations. You two can go get your horses and ride all over Araluen, telling people about Squid's funeral. Make sure _every single living person_ knows about it."

Halt smiled. "Well, smarty-pants, I'm afraid you've forgotten something."

Gilan frowned. "Oh yeah?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you haven't told us _when _and _where _the funeral is." Halt crossed his arms over his chest. While Gilan may be smart, Halt was smarter and a quick-thinker.

Gilan paused. "Well, I guess the funeral will be four evenings from now, at precisely five o' clock."

"And the place?"

"Right here."

Halt looked flabbergasted. "Here?" he croaked. "You can't—you can't—fit that many people in here," Halt protested.

Gilan ignored him. "Now, off you go!" Gilan gave Halt and Will little pats on their backs and pushed them toward the door.

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**This should be very interesting... :) Reviews are greatly appreciated. **


	5. Chapter 5

Will and Halt went to retrieve their Ranger horses.

Tug gave Will an affectionate snort and let his master clamber on.

Will gave Halt a quizzical look.

"I suppose we'd better go to Redmont first. It's nearest." Halt decided. "We'll worry about getting to Castle Araluen later."

Will nodded to show that he'd understood the plan. They rode into the dark night, eyes cast on the road ahead.

When the two Rangers had arrived at Castle Redmont, the sky was a brilliant shade of black. The moon was barely visible through foggy clouds and the stars were faint.

They looked around, hoping to spot any person. Any person, any late-night straggler, anybody who would spread the word about Squid's funeral. The first person they saw was a boy a few years older than Will. Will and Halt quickly rode up to him.

"You are invited to Squid's funeral, five o'clock, four evenings from now, at Halt's cottage. Spread the word."

And with that, Halt and Will left. The boy was left looking confused. "Um…okay!" he called after them.

They rode on, searching for another person to invite. There was nobody else. Halt cursed.

"Why did Gilan send us out _now?" _he said furiously. "We might as well invite the stars and moon to come!"

Will thought for a moment. "Maybe Baron Arald is still up."

Halt nodded and they both rode to the towering turrets of Redmont Castle. Even though it very late, there were guards stationed at the doors.

Now, one guard with a large mustache looked suspiciously at Halt and Will. "Who are you?"

"I'm Halt, member of the Ranger Corps." Halt showed him his silver amulet. "And this is Will, my apprentice."

"What yer doin' at 'tis hour?" the other guard said in a thick accent. He had a large scar under his left eye.

"We need to see Baron Arald. We have an appointment." said Halt.

"At 'tis hour?" the man said again.

Halt nodded. "Yes."

The guard with the large mustache looked suspiciously at the small figure. Finally, he nodded, but rather reluctantly.

"All right, you two may enter. The Baron is in his chambers." He did not have an accent, unlike the other guard. "You may leave your horses in the stable over there." He gestured to the stable nearby.

Halt and Will left Abelard and Tug in the stable.

Then they entered Redmont. The halls were still lit with flaming candles, despite the time. Halt led the way to the Baron's chambers. Fortunately, through the crack under the door, Will could see that the room was brightly lit. He could hear two voices. One was the Baron's, the other was another male voice.

Halt knocked softly.

"Come in!" came a cheerful voice behind the door.

Will pushed the door open and they stepped inside. He saw that Baron Arald had been speaking to Crowley, the Ranger Corps Commandant. Crowley grinned at the sight of his Ranger friends.

"Good to see you, Halt." Crowley said. "And you too, Will."

"Crowley," Halt said. "You are invited to Squid's funeral, five o'clock, four evenings from now, at Halt's cottage. Spread the word." Halt repeated, word for word, what he'd said earlier to the boy. Then, he added, "Gilan wants all the Rangers to be there. And try to spread the word to the rest of Castle Araluen."

Crowley was taken aback. "And who might this 'Squid' be?" he inquired.

"An imaginary person." Halt said. He immediately felt stupid for saying it.

"Ah…okay, that's very nice. I guess…I guess I'll be there." Crowley said. He grinned. "Well, I'd better get going. Good night, my lord."

Baron Arald smiled. "Good night, Crowley."

Crowley waved to Will and Halt, and then turned around and left.

The Baron looked at Will and Halt after Crowley had left. "What were you saying about this funeral?" he asked mildly.

"You see, my lord, Squid is an imaginary person. He has two brothers, Gary and Bob, who are still living. Squid recently died and Gilan feels that he needs a proper funeral, so he wants tons of people there. It's at five o' clock tomorrow evening at Halt's cottage," said Will.

The Baron nodded thoughtfully. "Might I ask," he said, "why you are throwing a funeral for an _imaginary_ person?"

"I was thinking the same thing, my lord," Halt said quietly.

Will nodded. "If you want the details, my lord, you can ask Gilan tomorrow at the funeral."

"Ah, yes, I think I will." Arald nodded, clearly amused.

"Will you come, my lord?" Will asked.

The Baron smiled. "Yes, yes, I think I will. This sounds highly amusing. And I'd like to see all of the Ranger Corps there; that should be interesting…"

Will and Halt laughed politely.

"My lord, could you spread the word—to the kitchens, and to the Scribeschool, and the Battleschool, and everywhere else?" Will asked. "As we've mentioned, Gilan wants tons of people there—everyone living in Araluen, to be precise, my lord."

At this, the Baron laughed cheerfully. "Everyone? I'll try my best."

"That's all we came to talk about," said Will after a moment's silence.

Arald nodded. "Good night, both of you. Would you mind closing the door after you? Thanks."

"Good night," Will and Halt said together.

Halt and Will left the chambers. Halt closed the door behind them. They left Castle Redmont.

They had retrieved their horses and were on the road again.

"Well, now what, Halt?" Will asked.

Halt sighed. "We still haven't invited enough people, Will. We've got Castle Redmont and Castle Araluen covered, but we need to make sure everyone in this village knows. We still have a lot of work."

Will sighed. It was already _way _past midnight, he was sure of it. "Can't we just return to your cottage and invite people tomorrow morning?"

Halt considered this option. "Good idea," he said, looking weary. "We'll do just that."


End file.
